Company
by hanb96
Summary: Set around five years after Series 5, Martin and Louisa have a second child. Life seems perfect, until a visitor from the past turns their worlds upside down.
1. Chapter 1

**Set about five years after Series Five, Martin and Louisa are still in Portwenn. James is six and they have a second child, Emma, who is about six months old.**

**I do not own 'Doc Martin'. 'Doc Martin' and all its characters are property of Buffalo Pictures; I am just playing round with them a little! The fiction is purely for entertainment purposes.**

Chapter One

It had been a long week. The village had been inundated with influenza, everyone demanding antibiotics, it had been Louisa's first week back after her maternity leave, which was enough to stress Martin for months, James had started Year One and had decided he hated his teacher, which of course they hadn't heard the end of, and Emma's childminder had phoned in sick, leaving Martin with a teething six month old baby crawling around the surgery, much to Buddy's delight. Now, on this Friday afternoon he had decided to close surgery early, no longer able to cope with Portwenn's alleged sick, combined with the attention his daughter must now be craving. Ushering out Mrs Walker, who he now felt had earned enough loyalty points he owed her a coffin, which he would happily provide, he made his way into the kitchen. He could hear Morwenna reading some Cornish tosh legend to Emma, and smiled at her 'ooos' and 'ahhs' as the story progressed. As Emma spotted him, she gave him a delightful grin and giggled as he scooped her into his arms.

"Well, Doc, am I alright to scoot? After playing nursery nurse all week, I'll be glad to!" inquired his receptionist.

"Umm, yes... umm... thank you for your help this week, it's been ... umm... helpful" he replied, bashfully.

"Ah, no probs, hey, she's a hell of a lot easier than that James was, little tinker, especially his terrible two's, always after your doctorin' stuff wasn't he?" Martin grunted, as Emma pulled at his ears. "Listen, Doc? What you gonna give me for this week? She's hard work you know, and running the reception, and the phlebotomy stuff, and getting your supplies-"

"Yes, alright Morwenna! I'll add something to your pay in due course!"

"Aww Doc, thanks, see you Monday!" She swung out of the back door and was gone.

"Well Ems, I'm glad that weeks over, aren't you?" Martin stated. She hummed in agreement. "Been busy. Right, best clean up these dishes don't you think. That mummy's useless, says to leave it for her and here we are, cereal and banana everywhere" He hadn't had time to clear the breakfast dishes yet, another thing he'd had to adjust to for family life.

Placing Emma to sit on the worktop next to him, he started to run the water. Glancing at the clock; 3:30, he judged he had about half an hour to tidy before Louisa and James burst in and messed the whole place up again. Emma held out her hands for the scrubber and began to giggle as her daddy flicked it at her and the bubbles blew onto her face. Martin laughed. So much had changed in the last six years, he thought. There was a time when he would have settled for being a lonely, grumpy bachelor, married to medicine. Now he couldn't imagine his life without his family. He loved the sound of that; _his_ family. They were his life, his whole world. His daily routine, his leisure activities, everything he did revolved around them; they went on zoo days, too the circus, God, last week she'd even dragged him ice skating! That had been interesting.

Having completed the washing up, he picked up Emma, still fascinated by the foamy scrubber, and headed for the living area. He noticed the family photo Louisa had put up on the coffee table. It had been taken last year, before Emma had been born. They had taken a skiing holiday to Alpine Meadows, Lake Tahoe during February half term. Louisa had been shocked that Martin had suggested it. Being a competent skier from university days herself, she had never expected Martin to be interested. Turns out, he was very good, as him and Chris had spent many weeks in the French Alps for a number of years, and he and Edith had been several times. They had disputed for a long time if a skiing holiday with a five year old would have been feasible, but both had seen children younger than James learning in various ski schools and decided it was worth a try. They both enjoyed teaching him a lot, and after ten days, James himself was a good little skier, much to Martin's delight. They made a sweet little family hitting the slopes every day. In the photo, the three of them were huddled around a fire in the log chalet they had hired, James sporting his favourite fuzzy hat.

Placing Emma in her bouncer, he quickly tidied the toys scattered around the floor as the phone began to ring. As he turned to leave the room, he heard the faintest of whimpers behind him, looking over his shoulder; he saw the sweetest face of his little girl staring wide-eyed back at him, desperate for him to not leave the room without her.

"Oh Ems" he said smiling, as he lifted her up and hurried into the reception to answer the phone. "Hello, Ellingham"

"Oh, hi Martin, it's Ruth. Just wandering, have any of your children stolen my padlock, it was on the table, and young Ellinghams have a reputation for taking whatever takes their eye, as I'm sure you'll remember."

"Ruth, we haven't raised our children as thieves actually, as much as I'm sure you'd like to disagree with me, so no, we don't have it."

"Oh right, ok, well, call me when it turns up" She rang off. Sometimes, Martin hated the rash nature of his aunt, she could be so assumptious! Walking back into the kitchen, he could hear James's imitation of an airplane zooming up the hill, and knew that within seconds his son would be bursting through his kitchen door. Returning Ems to her bouncer, he braced himself about a metre behind the door, ready. James flew in seconds later, landing in his father's arms as Martin swung him round, high and fast

"Daddyyyy!" cried James

"Hello, James Henry! How was school today?" He said, giving James a kiss and placing him down.

"Mr Potts is silly, he shouted at me again!" At this point, Louisa was walking through the door, undoing her scarf.

"Oh James, there must have been a reason, and don't call anybody silly, it's not nice" said Louisa, hanging up her coat and scarf on the hook behind the door.

"Daddy does" replied James quickly.

She rolled her eyes. "Well daddy's naughty. Hi, Martin." She said as she reached up to kiss him. "And where's my little girl!" Walking over, she lifted Emma into her arms; Emma smiled happily at her mum. "Have you missed me today? Yes you have, I missed you! Have you been good for daddy and Morwenna?" She kissed her forehead and hugged her lovingly.

"...and, they were painting with the red, and me with the blue and I said lets mix to make purple and he shouted at me for shouting out but he always shouts because..." James was narrating today's events to Martin as Louisa checked the fridge for tea.

Suddenly, Martin felt a warm scratching against his leg and groaned in disgust as he noticed Buddy next to him.

"Oh, get out, go on" he instructed "God, I don't know why I agreed to keep you"

"Hardly" Louisa said "You make him sleep in the shed! And I know you love him really, I saw you rubbing his head the other night" She teased.

"I did no such thing!" He replied, outraged. He was convinced no one knew about his little relationship with Buddy. Ever since Joan had died, he had grown fonder of the little Jack Russell, and felt a weird connection with the animal and his relationship with Joan. He was very secretive about it, and Buddy sensed that too, but he often enjoyed the company when he was reading or working when everyone else was asleep. What fatherhood had done to him, he thought. He would never touch the thing with his hands though! That's an outrageous assumption! Ugh, vile.

"What's for tea then?" asked Louisa, now in the cupboard.

"Um, I wasn't sure what you wanted, but we could either have Cannellini bean and red onion risotto or I thought you might like pasta salad with sun-dried tomatoes as it's quite a warm evening. There's not much else in really, but I could pop to the grocers-"

"Pasta would be lovely" she said "Shall I make a start? I've got a bit of work to do later if that's ok, and James has cub scouts at five thirty too. I thought we could go into the village while he's there and call into the estate agents?"

"Yes, fine. Why don't you start your work now and I'll do tea then?"

"Oh that'd be great thanks, can I use your room?" Martin hated that. Louisa and he had argued about it a lot in the beginning. He had to admit though, there wasn't really anywhere else for her to work alone, but his surgery was his! He sighed.

"Yes" he replied rather bitterly. She rewarded him with a peck on the cheek and left. He noticed James was showing Emma a toy of his, and she was laughing back at him. He had always longed for a sibling and was so pleased James and Emma had each other. "James? Don't you have homework?"

"Umm, I'll do it at five o'clock."

"No, no, do it now James." James sighed in protest.

"But-"

"No buts James Henry, come on get it out. You can do it here whilst I'm making tea." James obeyed, reluctantly.

Turning on the oven, Martin started the washing machine and went to retrieve the pasta from the cupboard. Het set about making the tea, keeping an eye on Emma and occasionally stopping to help James. He cooked the pasta, put the sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl and covered with boiling water. He set them aside to rehydrate for 10 minutes, then chopped them into 1cm pieces. Once the pasta was cooked and drained, he stirred in the rest of the ingredients.

Just as he was about to announce dinner as ready, he heard a loud banging from inside the washing machine. Concerned, he switched it off and let the water drain so he could inspect it. What he found inside made him chuckle, silently. Inside the pocket of Emma's overalls was a bronze padlock. Closing the door and placing it on the worktop, he called Louisa for dinner and settled Emma into her high chair.

"Ooh, this looks nice daddy!" said Louisa as she entered. "I've just finished work, so perfect timing!" She sat herself down. Noticing the padlock on the side, she inquired "Where's that come from?"

"No idea" replied Martin, although he looked at Emma and winked. She giggled.

"So James, tell us about your day." asked his mother.

"Well, Mr Potts said that Susan Carter was the best painter he had ever seen, but I said that Jayne Mills was much better but he started saying that it wasn't my place to tell him who was good but it was his job to find out. But, I told him that I was only helping him because Susan is a rubbish painter and he started shouting and I had to stand outside for twelve minutes, so ..."

The family was so happy. They were as close as anyone could be. Each and every one of them loved each other unquestionably. Without any shadow of a doubt, the Ellinghams of Porwenn were a family like no other. As Martin sat there, listening to the musings of what his wife and children had been up to during the day, he never would have thought that very soon, a visitor from the past would throw his whole world upside down and threaten everything he had.

To be continued...

This is my first fanfic, so be nice! :D I would really appreciate anyone who has time to review! Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own 'Doc Martin'. 'Doc Martin' and all it's characters are property of Buffalo Pictures, I am just playing round with them a little! The fiction is purely for entertainment purposes.

Chapter Two

It was a wet, stormy night. Martin and Louisa had safely tucked James and Emma into bed and were settled on the sofa in the living area. Having returned from the estate agents and picked James up from cub scouts, it was now about nine o'clock and they were happy to have found some peace, at last. Louisa was was watching some period drama, Downton Abbey or some other, now in its seventh series, and Martin was catching up on the latest advancements in embryo screening and some trials in Russia on his iPad beside her.

"What do you think of what the estate agent said then?" inquired Louisa, keen to fill the silence during the ad break.

"Well, property prices in London are at an all time high, so financially it's an ideal time to sell."

"How long have you had the flat again?"

"It'll be seventeen years in October," replied Martin.

"Wow, that is along time! And you're sure you want to sell it?"

"Yes, we don't need the hassle of tenants on top of everything else and it's just sitting there otherwise."

"Not planning on running away from us anytime soon then?" she teased.

"Hmm, tempting." he said with a subtle grin.

She moved closer to him and snuggled into his chest. He instinctively placed an arm around her shoulder and she relaxed into his embrace. The storm still raged outside.

"Rough night." she said. "Aww, I hope Buddy's not too cold."

"Doubt it, you made me have heating installed in that shed last winter!" Louisa giggled at the thought of this.

"I know but he is getting old now and it was a very cold winter. Can't we let him in, just for tonight? He must be so scared on his own and it's such a rough night, please Martin!"

"No! He's got his own little house, he'll be fine!"

"Please, if we put him in the utility room, he won't bother us! And he never barks these days!"

"No."

"Pleeeeaaasse! For me!"

"... Oh for God's sake."

"Thank you!" Martin went to get him and groaned at the site of the rain as he opened the door. Less than a minute later, she heard Buddy's feet scatter into the kitchen and noticed his little body run up and jump onto the sofa beside her. She ruffled his wet head and he snuggled up to her.

"Get that thing out of my seat! Buddy! Floor, now!" Buddy did so in obedience and soon found his basket in the utility room. Martin quickly shut the door on him. "Ugh, it's freezing out there!" He sat down again beside Louisa and she cuddled up. They sat in silence for about fifteen minutes, not talking but appreciating each other's company. Both of them had lived alone for a number of years, and the times they had spent without company had seemed extremely lonely. Now, even five years into their marriage, time together, even in silence, was still incredibly valuable.

As Martin ran his fingers through Louisa's hair, she sighed contentedly, happy and completely at ease. She had never known such dependency in anyone until Martin. She was absolutely positive that whatever she did, and whether or not he agreed, she would always have his unquestioned support in everything. She could always rely on his being there for her. She knew that, if she asked, he would happily lay down his life for her at any instance, not that she'd ever want him too.

One of the times she had needed him most was when her father had passed away. It was two weeks before his due release from prison and James had been about three and a half. She was so excited about seeing him. Despite Martin's disapproval, he had agreed to allow him to stay with them, just for a few months, until he managed to 'sort out his finances' as he so carefully put it.

It was a Monday morning when the letter arrived. They were already running a bit late but the enveloped stamped with 'HMP Bristol' caught her eye in the post and she teared it open excitedly, awaiting news from her father. What she read changed her life. She had broken down in front of the mornings waiting patients and ran into Martin's consultation room. At first, he had turned in annoyance, however, the sight of the tears streaming down her face had worried him. His heart had lurched at the sight of her. He rushed over and she held out the letter for him to read. Sighing, and saying nothing, he wrapped her arms around her. They'd stayed like that for a while, Martin gently rocking his broken wife. For once in their lives, their careers and duties in their jobs had been secondary.

In the next week, she seemed to Martin to have cried out all the emotion Terry had caused her over the last thirty years. She'd told Martin everything; his gambling, her many weekends spent completely alone from a young age, the relationship between her mum and dad; all of it. Never before had she really been able to share this emotion with anyone and she appreciated it more than he could ever imagine. It was in that week that they had really grown close as a couple, sharing their inner most feelings.

Louisa was brought back to reality by the sound of Martin's gentle snoring beside her. Smiling, she stroked his hair and noticed the storm really was raging outside. At that second, a soft whimper could be heard though Emma's baby monitor and Louisa wriggled out of Martin's grip to attend to her daughter. Martin woke, startled, and looked at Louisa in a daze for a moment, before announcing;

"I was just resting my eyes."

"I'll just check on Emma," replied Louisa, unconvinced. Martin heard her talking at Emma through the baby monitor and smiled. Bringing Emma into the living room, Louisa said "I think she must have had a bad dream, she was in a bit of a state." Sighing, Martin took Emma and stroked her head and cuddled her gently. All three of them jumped when they heard a little voice behind them announce;

"Why's Ems allowed up when it's way past bed time?"

"James? Sorry, did we wake you?"

"No, I needed a drink anyway." Walking to the tap, he helped himself. Instinctively, upon his return he crawled into his mother's lap. Glancing at the clock, he was pleased to have made this move successfully, and logged that 11:14 was the latest he could yet remember.

Suddenly, a loud banging sounded on the back door, startling them all. Louisa and Martin looked at each other. As the banging persisted, Buddy began to howl from inside the utility room. This frightened Emma and she began to cry. The phone began to ring in the surgery and James shouted over it all that the knocking was scaring him.

Louisa comforted her children and Martin began for the door, the knocking was even louder now.

"Alright, I'm coming!" Turning the key and slowly opening it into the stormy night, he saw the figure of a soaking wet man standing before him. The frantic world inside the house and the raging storm outside froze as Martin logged who the late night visitor was. Of all the people he had ever met, this man enraged him most. Of all the people that could have been standing on his porch on a late Friday night, this man was the one Martin despised most. He was everything Martin hated. The sight of him consumed him with venom, jealousy and anger.

Before him, stood Danny Steel.

To be continued...

Thanks to all the people who have reviewed!


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own 'Doc Martin'. 'Doc Martin' and all its characters are property of Buffalo Pictures; I am just playing round with them a little! The fiction is purely for entertainment purposes.

Chapter Three

Martin froze. He was too stunned to function. Having heard nothing, Louisa peered around the wall in curiosity. She didn't quite recognize the man at first; soaking wet, a little greyer and blurred by the rain.

"Oh my God! Danny! Martin, let him in, it's pouring down!" Martin stepped aside, and Danny entered slowly.

"Hi, Lou, it's good to see you."

"Hi Danny, what are you doing here?" He sighed.

"I'd never normally do this to you, but... um... I need your help. I've lost everything; I've nowhere else to go." James was now peering around the wall and Martin piped up for the first time.

"James, you need to go back to bed." Addressing Louisa, he said, "I'll just sort them out." He looked at Danny warily and left.

"Danny what's happened?" inquired Louisa, demanding at explanation for his late night visit. He sighed again.

"I've lost everything Lou, all of it. What left I've got is going to High Trees for mum. She's bad too know, hardly remembers me now."

"Danny, that's awful, what happened?"

"I pumped everything all into a huge architectural project in Australia. Met a Russian guy out there, he told me it was going to be big money. He needed £250,000. I sold everything, my house, my car, I gave all my life savings. Just kept a few thousand to live on until the money came through. Of course, I lost it all. Then, mum's finances were tighter than she'd assured me and last of it went to her. I'd never normally do this Lou, but I need somewhere to live, just until I get my life back together." At this point, Martin returned into the kitchen, obviously having time to gather his thoughts and announced;

"What do you want, Danny?"

"Martin, I know... I know we've not always seen eye to eye, but, me and Lou, we... well, we were close, I just need your help, just till I get back on my feet, I-"

Louisa butted in, "Danny, you've helped me out when I needed it before, of course we'll help you."

"Louisa?" Martin interjected.

"Martin?" she snapped back at him. He sighed. As much as he disliked the man, no, hated the man, if Louisa had decided on something, he knew by now that there was little he could do about it. However, in that moment, he could never have imagined to what extent Danny needed their help, and how much his family would sacrifice to do so. "Now, let's get you out of those soaking clothes, Martin, fetch him something would you?"

"What? What the hell am I supposed to get?"

"Just get him a shirt and trousers or something!"

"What? I'm not just giving him my clothes!"

"Martin, do you really expect him to sleep in these clothes? You of all people should know the health impacts of that. Just go!" He sighed and left.

"Louisa, I can't tell you how much this means to me, I promise, I'll make it up to you."

"Danny, when me and Martin broke our engagement all those years ago, you were my only friend in the world. I'm eternally grateful for you getting me through that, just think of it as a repayment, I owe you this." They smiled at each other.

"I've missed you Lou."

"Yeh, it's been a long time Danny."

"I messed things up with us, I regret that so much, what we had, it was something special." He was staring deep into her eyes.

"Oh Danny, don't do that." She touched her forehead and looked down.

"I know Lou, I'm sorry it's just, well, seeing you all settled down now, it's... This is what I always dreamed of for me and you." He chuckled, "Oh well, sometimes life moves on too quickly for you to catch up." He chuckled again, "Come here you." He held out his arms to embrace her. She walked over and he placed his arms around her. She hugged him back, and she realized she had missed him. They were hugging as friends, nothing more, yet she was comfortable in his arms and she sighed contentedly.

"This was all I-" Martin stopped mid-sentence, and froze, seeing his wife happily embracing Danny before him. Though it was nothing feel guilty about, Louisa new Martin wouldn't approve and they jumped apart quickly. He was unsure how to react. Louisa saw before her the face of a lost little boy. Yet, since having a family, Martin had become to think of them before he thought of his own feelings. He knew that if he reacted angrily, Danny would see him as a controlling and unreasonable husband. Though it felt wrong, to save Louisa from this embarrassment and for her sake only, he chose to ignore it.

"Um, I could only find this." He said, holding up a blue flannel pair of pyjamas that Louisa has forbidden him from wearing years ago. He now had to settle for a Calvin Klein vest top and striped bottoms.

"Bless you, Martin, that's great." Martin grunted.

"Um, the old spare room's Emma's nursery now so it looks like the sofa's your best bet." Danny thanked them religiously and made for the bathroom for a quick shower and change.

Louisa felt the need to explain. "Martin, I'm sorry, it was nothing, he's just lost right now."

"Yeh, reputed London architect my arse, what's he doing here anyway Louisa?"

"He's totally broke Martin, he hasn't got anywhere to go, he practically homeless." Martin knew that Louisa had gone to Danny after their 'non-wedding' and felt partially indebted to him for that, but he could never get over the jealousy he had felt towards him from when they had dated, and for the friendship he and Louisa still shared. Despite his wedding band, he felt indirectly threatened by Danny's presence, almost territorial.

"So how long will he be here? Weeks? Months?"

"He told you, until he gets back on his feet, and till then, we'll be happy to help, we owe him."

Danny returned minutes later, sporting Martin's flannel pyjamas, Louisa had made him up a bed on the sofa. Louisa had to suppress a laugh at the sight of him. The swallowed up the tiny man, to Martin's pleasure.

Back in Martin and Louisa's bedroom, they were getting ready for bed.

"Thank you Martin. I really appreciate this." He grunted. "No, I mean it. I know it's not easy."

She crawled into bed, and he followed her. As he switched off the bedside lamp, she spooned up behind him. He flinched.

"Oooh, your hands are cold." He said. She giggled. She moved her hands over his chest and he tensed. She continued until her hands warmed up a bit and she ran them over his back and across his stomach. He turned around so that he was facing her. He placed a hand on her waist and ran the other through her hair. As things between them progressed, and she lovingly thanked him for his generosity, his jealousy for his new lodger subsided slightly and for a time, he was completely forgotten.

To be continued...

Thanks so much to everyone who has taken the time to review, it's very inspirational!


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